The Midnight Sun

A Novel

About the Book

From the acclaimed author of Wolf Winter comes a new historical crime novel with all the intrigue and atmosphere of Burial Rites and the suspense of The Tenderness of Wolves. Taking place a hundred years after the shocking events of Wolf Winter in the same haunting territory, The Midnight Sun is set in high summer, under the searing light of a sun that never quite sets.

Sweden, 1855. “Worst thing I ever saw...” The Minister of Justice has received a disturbing message. There’s been a massacre on one of Lapland's mountains: a priest, a law enforcement officer, and a local settler have been slaughtered by one of the indigenous Sami people. The murderer is in custody, but he refuses to talk. The Minister dispatches his son-in-law, a geologist, to investigate, as there is another reason to visit Blackåsen: it is a mountain with many secrets, a mountain whose rich mineral deposits have never been exploited. But Magnus does not journey alone. The Minister’s daughter, in disgrace, is sent with him.

The two unlikely companions venture out of the sweltering city to the wild landscape of Sweden’s far north under the strange, insomnia-inducing light of the midnight sun. There, the shocking truth they discover about the murders and what lies behind them will only be matched by what they discover about themselves. For Lovisa and Magnus—and for the people of Blackåsen—nothing will ever be the same again. In The Midnight Sun tells a riveting story of the collision of worlds old and new, and cements Ekbäck’s status as a master of Nordic noir.

Educator and Librarian Resources

Critical Praise

“[Ekbäck] has a tremendous sense of place. Vividly conveying the desolation of the landscape in this haunting novel.” —Sunday Times (London)

“Ekback is a talented writer. . . . This book is never less than absorbing.” —The Times (UK)

“With The Midnight Sun, we’re given more ambitious, literate Nordic Noir from Swede Cecilia Ekbäck . . . . As in Wolf Winter, Ekbäck once again proves that she is in the very front rank of Scandinavian crime writers.” —Independent (UK)